Helping Hands
-- Radio: A-Chat -- Acuity says, "Argh! I need to get these guns fixed!" -- Radio: A-Chat -- Sky Lynx says, "Not every combat skill requires guns, m'dear. I, for one, have only one such ranged weapon. I rely on my stength and skill for defense and offense." -- Radio: A-Chat -- Wheeljack says, "Dependin' on the damage... might be easier to get new ones. Ain't a shortage of them these days... *grumble*" -- Radio: A-Chat -- Acuity says, "Yes, well, sometimes it's just wiser to hit someone from afar. You are large enough that you won't often be out bulked by someone." Pauses. "It won't matter if I get new ones; the same problem will crop up. I just can't grasp them right without making all sorts of mistakes." -- Radio: A-Chat -- Sky Lynx says, "Ah, Wheeljack. I am surprised that Prowl did not send you the new weapon I recovered from Thundercracker last cycle, I had hoped that he would tap into your expertise." -- Radio: A-Chat -- Wheeljack says, "Why, whatta' silly noton! You don't gotta' holda' weapon to use it! Heck, ya' can be one if you want and then you can be held!" -- Radio: A-Chat -- Wheeljack mutters, "Seems that's all anyone wants these days... I'd think Prowl would want to DESTROY weapons rather than turn 'em over to anyone. Not that he's connected to me anyway." -- Radio: A-Chat -- Acuity says, "I already /have/ two extra modes; I don't think I need three." Pause. "Do I?" Another pause. "And if that was so easy, I might as well just get a new face and hands while I'm at it, and then the gun thing would be solved." -- Radio: A-Chat -- Wheeljack says, "Well, some things are beyond modification. Some stuff can be hardwired to yer spark chamber but that's dangerous. Them triplechangers got a lot goin' on. Not sure you can add THAT. But that wasn't... what I was gettin' at. *sigh* If you gotta' have 'em I guess... well, if the grip's off, should be an easy fix." -- Radio: A-Chat -- Acuity says, "A lack of hands is a problem. Though, I would be much happier using weapons that worked on stun or sensory depravation rather than full out injury; I'm mostly a peace keeper rather than a high stakes soldier. For what that's worth." -- Radio: A-Chat -- Wheeljack says, "Yer a cop without hands?!" -- Radio: A-Chat -- Acuity says, "It's a long story. Okay, not so long; I went undercover and ended up 'stuck' in my disguise." -- Radio: A-Chat -- Wheeljack says, "If you don't got hands how do you write citations?" -- Radio: A-Chat -- Acuity says, "I voice everything. It's a bit cumbersome, but it's better than not writing reports and losing my job." -- Radio: A-Chat -- Wheeljack says, "So... you don't have hands and you want me to make ya' stunguns but not hands?" -- Radio: A-Chat -- Acuity says, "I'm not sure I'm ready to get new hands yet. It's...probably just me being silly and sentimental." -- Radio: A-Chat -- Wheeljack says, "I ain't one to judge! If you don't want no hands at all, that's yer call!" -- Radio: A-Chat -- Acuity says, "Where are you right now? This might be easier to talk about not over the radio." -- Radio: A-Chat -- Wheeljack says, "Kimia, workin' late. Don't know who all is cleared to come here... should I come to you officer?" -- Radio: A-Chat -- Acuity says, "Whatever is most convienient; I don't want to pull you away from something important if you're working late." -- Radio: A-Chat -- Wheeljack says, "Nothin' that can't wait!" -- Radio: A-Chat -- Acuity says, "Well, again, it's your call. I'm just at the Decagon." -Well, when Wheeljack sees Acuity he'll see what she means about no hands. She has something, but they're more like grappling hook claws, the configuration of which probably makes a lot of things hard to do the 'traditional' way. Certainly not suited for holding a gun, let alone pulling a trigger with any sort of ease. -The definition of 'hands' could be debated at length, but that's not really what Acuity is looking for. She flexes the claws; they only move slightly. She can grab large objects fairly well with them, but any fine motor manipulation would be difficult; and if she were pressed for time, it could potentially become an issue. "It's just a good thing I wasn't a medic. Then again, if I was, I wouldn't likely have been going undercover in the first place," she says lightly, trying to bring a bit of levity to this since her expression is never changing. -"Hah! Sometimes bein' a media means bangin' on it with a wrench and hopin' it reboots better," Wheeljack blinks an optic. He moves closer to get a better look, bending over to examine on hand in detail. "Maybe it's the same for bein' a cop, though that seems to be more about tellin' bots what not to do rather than actually DOIN' somethin'." He rights himself as he moves his optics to Acuity's waist. "If those pinchers got out of the way, maybe guns you could 'slip on'... hook into, interface with. That way you wouldn't have to pull any triggers and you wouldn't have to have 'em on all the time. Like, a cannon on your shoulder of somethin', hah. You said you wanted 'em to stun?" -"That would be a preference, though some people would say it's not practical," Acuity says, blinking her single optic. "I'm generally the one that goes out for lower threats, or things that haven't escalated too high yet in hopes of avoiding a situation, rather than the heavies that go in after to bash heads and clean things up," she explains. Lowering her voice slightly, she adds, "And with the reputation we have among many of the people, I don't think I need to increase the notion that we're all brutal thugs, do you?" -"Well, ya' don't gotta' have a gun to be a thug. Or to be brutal," Wheeljack points out. His opinion of the police isn't so great and he's unafraid to express it, even right to a cop. "If you wanna' have that heavy option, we can still do that. Maybe a shoulder cannon is still an option, hah!" With a flick of the wrist, Wheeljack produces a round disk. He moves to Acuity's arm and then with a tug pulled out a flexible metal strip that is laser-line measured. A measuring tape! He starts sizing up with he's thinking. "There's options we can go with on the low end too. Gonna' assume you want them all. So, an electro-stun, an audio-diruptor, some expandable foam-chem rounds..." -Acuity listens intently, and is pretty good at moving when indicated to do so. She's not terribly shy about being examined, most likely because she's already been altered. "I want to be effective," she says. "Different people have different defenses, so a variety is good." She hmmmms. "But you're right, it doesn't take guns to be considered a thug, but using non-lethal force is a step in the right direction I believe." -"Only non-lethal force is no force at all. One something is put in motion..." Wheeljack shakes his head though because it's kind of pointless to try to change the mind of somebot who has already committed her career to a particular course. "Keepin' the peace makes sense, though if you keep it so good that nothin' dangerous ever happens... it's how we learn, ya' know. Makin' mistakes." He taps the measure on the claw he's measuring. Wheeljack steps back as he runs down a shared checklist. "Reverb crowd dispersing array, taser rounds, expandin' adhesive foam-chem, normal rounds, then somethin' ... hefty. Though, no!" He snaps his fingers. "Magnetic capsules that would magnetize a localized area so keep perps in place!" -"Dead mechs and femmes don't learn anything either," Acuity points out. "Okay, less-lethal, then, if you want to be completely accurate." Obviously the two of them use words differently, but that's okay, right? "I believe people should have the chance to change their minds before the law starts arresting everyone out of hand...or worse." She sighs. "I believe in law and order, but I also believe in compassion. Some say the two can't be reconciled; I don't think this is the case." She tilts her head slightly. "From talking to you the few times over the general communication frequency, you sound like you're the kind of mech with his spark square in the right place." -Wheeljack has a thing for words and the meaning behind them, especially when it comes to names. He's an odd one for sure. "I think bots are already beginnin' to change their minds, if folks want 'em to or not, which is why Prowl is so freaked out... hah," he snorts. He couldn't help himself. "Thanks though you're one of like five bots that think so! Thing is, I ain't afraid to speak my mind which scares off most... anyway, I can get these guns made pretty quick. I met this courier once...giant wheels. Okay to have 'em sent to you?" -Acuity nods her head. "Sure. And as long as I get one set done in decent time, go ahead and take as much time as you need, or want, on the rest. I don't like feeling too defenseless, and I don't like being unable to protect those who need help." She rolls back her shoulders slightly. "Prowl has an excellent grasp on the letter of the law, and he loves order. But I think his spark is burried too deep under all those regulations. Sometimes it makes me wonder what he was like when he was still a young spark." She taps the side of her 'face' with a claw. "I'm not scared by the opinions of others; I'm not the one in power so they're no threat to me." She chuckles softly, which probably sounds weird coming from someone with no outward expression. -"I plan to make ya' two, one for each hand!" Wheeljack emphasizes this with twin finger-guns that he dramatically twirls in your direction. "I'll work on both of those as long as you work on gettin' those pinchers back." "Prowl's a jerk. Plan and simple. There ain't a sense to adherin' to 'order' if there ain't a reason for that order. What's the point of his law and order if it strips us of everythin' that makes us who or what we are. That's just blind followin' the marchin' orders." -"I haven't had much problem with him personally," Acuity says, "but I do see what you mean. I always figured it was there to protect people, to protect society. But society /means/ people. If you don't have people, you don't have a society. I think, sometimes, the higher ups forget that." Her tone warms slightly. "But thanks for coming to see me; it was nice to meet you in person finally." -Wheeljack taps his nose as he thinks that Acuity is onto something. Maybe Jackie still has a bit of that 'teacher mentality' in him. "We ain't nothin' but a collection of individuals. Which means me, you, and everyone else." Which is why, to Wheeljack, Acuity isn't impaired - just different. "Any time! My pleasure to meet you too! Expect a delivery from a little bot." He holds his hand at about his mid-thigh. "This big. Wheels as big as yer head, hah." -Acuity isn't sure if she considers herself 'impaired' so much as being pragmatic enough to realize most standard equipment was not made for her use...for anyone's use that doesn't have 'proper' hands. The government was particularly mean in using such things as punisment. "I might have seen her before. Atrocious language, big smile, pipes on her head?" Acuity says, referring to the one likely to make a delivery. -"A smile as bright as her paint, yep! Good to know you know who to expect!" With that Wheeljack gives a little salute, then turns to go as he has two more guns to make now! -At least she didn't ask for guns that will blast a huge hole in people, or vaporize them entirely, or something.